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Scottish notes in England?

Posted by SplitOpenAndMelt420@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 19 comments

Hi all. Dumb tourist here who didn't know Scotland had its own currency. What are the chances shops will accept Scottish notes in York or London?

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19 Comments

Ethicsgradien7@reddit

I am Scottish, as a result I sometimes end up in Scotland, I live near London and travel the UK extensively due to work. I have never once had a Scottish note refused. Except one occasion, and that was a Scottish £100 and I tried to spend it just to see if they would take that, they didn't, but most places in Scotland won't accept those either, stupid things, to the bank with those.
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SoftwareDry3321@reddit

I’m Scottish and we went to the winter carnival thing and everyone took a look at our £10 Scottish note and said no. Like no explanation or anything they just said no and handed our money back. It was really irritating
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JWood4@reddit

I’m at a very large, very posh hotel bar in Kensington and it was refused.
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bitnabi@reddit

Shops do not have to accept them. Something I didn't see pointed out is that even if the cashier recognises it as Scottish money, they still might refuse it because they cannot give it back out as change. So accepting this and having to give you back English change from the till can be such a headache. You'd think a till would have all the necessary change, but it empties during the day, and it's never kept on top of (something the cashier usually doesn't have control over). I've rejected English £50 notes for the same reason. So I see lot of comments telling you to stand your ground if the cashier says no. Please, instead of squaring off with an underpaid overworked cashier, consider taking the L and spending them at the self checkout, or exchange them at a bank/post office for English tender.
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awsedrfx@reddit

Why can't you give it back out as change?
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bitnabi@reddit

As far as I'm aware, it's so that only English money is in circulation in England.
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Inevitable-Hat-1576@reddit

I think you’ll find pal, THAT’s legal tendaaarrrr
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awsedrfx@reddit

People really need to stop saying that. Incorrect and misuse of the term
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Inevitable-Hat-1576@reddit

You know it’s a Michael Macintyre joke I’m quoting right?
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awsedrfx@reddit

Sure, it's still annoying and incorrect though
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Inevitable-Hat-1576@reddit

The guys who show up to a petrol station with a collectors £5 coin to wind up minimum wage workers are the real heroes
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Solibear1@reddit

You will get a lot of people saying “it’s legal tender”, as if that’s some sort of way of saying somewhere has to accept it. These people don’t know what legal tender means, nor what rules shops have to follow In England & Wales, only notes issued by the Bank of England are legal tender. Scottish notes are legal CURRENCY, but not legal TENDER. There’s a difference. They’re not even legal tender in Scotland itself - only Royal Mint coins are. Shops can accept or reject any currency or form of payment that they want. They are not legally obliged to sell you anything. If they wanted to accept Monopoly money, that’s their prerogative. Reasons for not accepting Scottish notes include: - Annoying having to separate them when cashing up - They’re not familiar to most cashiers so it’s less easily to recognise forgeries - Since they aren’t legal tender, they don’t need to be accepted to pay off debt. So for example, if a business is in overdraft, the bank isn’t obliged to accept Scottish notes to pay it off So in short - nowhere has to accept them, but anecdotally, many places will
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awsedrfx@reddit

Another comment mentioned separating notes when cashing up. Not sure what that is referring to. Can you explain?
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Solibear1@reddit

It used to be that you had to sort different notes into separate piles when paying in. Not sure if that’s still the case now. Also, businesses will use check-weighing devices to count notes, and they need to be calibrated for the weight of each note. If you’ve calibrated it to accept Scottish notes then fine, but if not, they have to be separated or the computer will say no
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Dontyabigboy@reddit

As far as I know, they’re legal tender everywhere. £50 notes might be hit and miss atm. But Irish and Scottish notes are 100% legal to use in England and Wales. I work in retail relatively close to Scotland (like 3hr drive)
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awsedrfx@reddit

Legal tender has nothing to do with the exchange of money for goods (buying things in shops). Shop owners do not have to accept money of any sort, legal tender or otherwise when selling goods. Legal tender refers to debt repayment in cash form and has nothing to do with the legal status of cash. If a debtor wishes to pay off their debt and has the means to do so, the creditor (e.g. bank that the person owes money to) cannot refuse to settle the debt. There is a caveat to this, which is where legal tender comes in. This concept is to stop people trying to pay off debts in the thousands or millions using 1p coins for example. Creditors can refuse to accept payment in small denominations beyond a certain amount. 1, and 2p coins are only legally obliged to be accepted/are legal tender up to 20p, 20p coins up to £10 etc The guidelines are different in the different areas of the UK, but the legal status of british currency does not differ. There is no such thing as (modern) English pounds or Scottish pounds, just pounds sterling (£)
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tmstms@reddit

It's random. Larger shops certainly will. You can easily change them if you need to.
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NutMaximas@reddit

I worked for a large department store in Oxford street. You want to pay on euros? No problem. Want to pay in dollars? Sure. Only have Yens? Absolutely. The minute you pull out a scottish note its like you’re paying with monopoly money. My manager always refused for no reason other than its a headache when we cash up.
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awsedrfx@reddit

What do you mean its headache to cash up? Can you explain?
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